Broken Bond - Callie Rose Page 0,76

the bar, shooting the shit with his friends. My mates will be able to take him down with a single paw, and then we can get the answers we need before deciding our next move.

A part of me wonders… could we kill him? Rid the world of this stain before he finds another young girl to hurt? I know I probably couldn’t murder him in cold blood. Not on my own. I’m no killer. But my mates… they’re predators at heart. If I asked them to kill my uncle, I think they would.

So the question remains—can I even ask?

Should I?

I’m padding softly along the grass behind Ridge and Archer, lost in my ‘what ifs’, when his stride suddenly changes. His stooped shoulders straighten as he whirls around in a flash, his steps sure and confident.

Black smoke curls from his hands as he attacks us with magic.

All five of us react swiftly, our group splintering as we dart off into the shadowy trees as Clint’s magic lashes out to strike at us. I’ve never seen the black smoke magic used like this—a weapon instead of passive fog hanging around in the air. One black tendril strikes the ground near my paws, and I dance away, a small whine escaping me.

So he is a witch.

And he’s sharper than we expected. He clearly knew we were following him and waited for the right time to surprise us.

Stay back, Sable! Trystan roars, and as one, my four mates converge on Clint.

Archer’s blond wolf leaps onto Clint’s back, his jaws latching onto the man’s neck, while Ridge, Trystan, and Dare lunge from the front. Clint’s craggy face is furious, and he launches another magical attack. Two massive tendrils spiral away from his hands and knock Ridge and Trystan out of the way before they can make contact with him. But before he can regroup and send another tendril out, Dare tackles him, teeth snapping in Clint’s face, and they fall to the ground.

Archer leaps away from the falling man, his jaws dripping blood. I can see the dark liquid shining on Clint’s neck from where my mate tried to subdue him from behind. Dare isn’t alone for long before Ridge and Trystan bound back into motion and leap in to help him pin the man down.

Clint is wily with his magic though.

He blasts out a thick black cloud, sending all four shifters flying through the air. Archer hits the ground near my paws, and I race forward, nudging him with my nose. His green eyes blink away the daze from the blow, and then he scrambles to his feet, urging me back into the shadows before he leaps back into the fray.

I pace along the trees, my hackles raised and my breaths coming in shallow, nervous pants. I’m helpless to do anything. I wish I could add my magic to the fight—use it to take down Clint before he can hurt the men I love, but I still don’t know enough about using my powers to risk trying. What if I hurt my mates? It’s my biggest fear, and in the dark like this, with Clint and the shifters rolling and jumping, snapping and biting with magic flying, the odds are good I’d screw things up.

Unfortunately for my uncle, he’s up against four strong alphas. Four alphas who have a grudge to settle, and who hate him for what he’s done to me. The fight is vicious and brutal, but eventually, they wear him down and get the upper hand.

Archer’s wolf clamps its jaw around his neck, teeth making indentations on his skin, while Dare and Trystan pin his arms to keep him from using magic. Clint is bleeding from multiple places on his body, his shirt half torn off and wounds covering his torso. Maybe it makes me a monster, but I appreciate the poetic justice of it—seeing him bleed the way he once made me bleed.

My mates begin to shift back into human form, so I follow suit. I’m too heartened by them winning the battle to worry too much about being naked… until I step up onto the dirt driveway and a cool breeze brushes over my bare skin. The marks on my skin flare like a network of shadows passing over my body. I suddenly feel vulnerable and exposed, facing my biggest fear with nothing to hide me.

Ridge is kneeling on Clint’s chest, while Trystan practically sits on his head. As if by unspoken agreement, Dare and Archer stand to join